Photo courtesy of Eric Swope
The Homewood Middle School boys and girls cross-country teams swept the Metro South Championship titles for the first time in school history, with both claiming the top spot Oct. 16 at Veterans Park in Alabaster.
The 2018 cross-country season was one of many firsts for Homewood Middle School.
This fall, the boys and girls teams swept the Metro South Championships, held Oct. 16 at Veterans Park in Alabaster, with the girls winning it for the first time in school history and the boys team clinching the title for the second straight season.
It was the first time in school history both programs have swept the titles in the same year.
The boys ran to a dominant victory, totaling just 19 points, compared to second-place Bumpus’ total of 67. The Patriots swept the top four spots in the race and Grayton Murray won the individual title at Metro for the second straight season. The win capped off back-to-back unbeaten seasons for the team.
“It’s been a fascinating sight to watch them run and a lot of fun to coach,” said Eric Swope, HMS’ cross-country coach. “When you have the top guys practicing with each other, it tends to get the whole team performing and practicing at a higher level.”
Murray won the 2-mile race with a time of 11:29.16. Andrew Laird followed a second behind, finishing second in 11:30.19. Sam Gray (11:32.28) and Arthur Langley (11:36.58) rounded out the top four. Leny Mbogo finished ninth with a time of 11:58.57.
Hewitt-Trussville finished third with 83 points, Pizitz came in fourth with 117 points and Berry was fifth after accumulating 122 points.
The girls race was much closer, with Homewood and Mountain Brook tying for the top spot with 41 points. But Homewood claimed the top prize via tiebreaker.
The Patriots narrowly defeated Mountain Brook and eventual third-place finisher Hewitt-Trussville in the regular season, so they knew Metro would be tough.
“If our girls could go out and push the pace of the other teams, it would break them up and we would eventually have five girls that would survive that pace and take it home,” Swope said of the team’s strategy.
Mountain Brook’s Reagan Riley beat the field by nearly 40 seconds, but Homewood’s Sarah Derriso placed second overall with a time of 13:02.1. Maris Owen (sixth, 13:11.34) and Sydney Dobbins (ninth, 13:14.4) also finished in the top 10.
Hewitt-Trussville’s total of 67 was easily good enough for third place, with Pizitz Middle School (153) and Berry Middle School (154) finishing one point apart to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
The top 30 finishers in each race received All-Metro honors, and 11 Homewood girls accomplished the feat. The number was the most in program history. Derriso, Owen, Dobbins, Madeline Massie (11th), Marin Poleshek (13th), Susie Whitsett (16th), Camille Etheridge (17th), Sarah Kemper (19th), Mary Sienna McBride (21st), Kara Grace Hess (24th) and Sophia Forrestall (30th) all claimed the honor.
Outside of the top five finishers for the boys, Ben Murray (12th) and Daniel Coburn (18th) were also honored as All-Metro runners.
Swope also gave thanks to the teachers and coaches throughout the school for their support and said he is “excited to share these titles with the entire school and community.”
– Eric Swope contributed to this report.
